NEW YORK – Manhattan's district attorney dropped part of the criminal sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein on Thursday after evidence emerged that cast doubt on the account one of his three accusers provided to the grand jury.

The development was announced in court Thursday with Weinstein looking on.

In an expose published in The New Yorker one year ago Wednesday, Evans accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex when they met alone in his office in 2004 to discuss her fledgling acting career. At the time, Evans was a 21-year-old college student.

Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the judge that prosecutors wouldn't oppose dismissal of the count in the case involving Evans. She insisted the rest of the case, involving five other counts and two other accusers, was strong.

"In short, your honor, we are moving full steam ahead," she said.

Harvey Weinstein leaves New York Criminal Court Oct. 11, 2018 after a hearing on his sex-crimes case resulting in dismissal of one charge against him.(Photo: KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images)

In a statement later to reporters, she said nothing disclosed in court Thursday "impacts the strength of the remaining case and the remaining counts in the indictment, all five of them, including predatory sexual assault."

Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters he would seek a full dismissal of the entire indictment because allegedly perjured testimony "contaminated" the grand jury proceeding.

The NYPD said later it is investigating allegations that DiGaudio improperly coached a the witness during the investigation. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea says an internal probe of the detective's conduct began a week ago and that DiGaudio has "no active role" in the Weinstein investigation but remains on duty.

Brafman told the judge he believes Evans lied both to the grand jury and to The New Yorker about her encounter with Weinstein.

"The integrity of these proceedings has been compromised," he said. Outside court, he suggested that Evans should be prosecuted criminally for perjury.

Brafman described the setback for the prosecution as a "positive development" for Weinstein. In a statement to reporters, he said the crime of falsely accusing someone of sexual assault is as serious as the crime of sexual assault.

But he said the development in the case is not an attack on the #MeToo movement, which was empowered by Weinstein's fall from his powerful position as a Hollywood producer.

Harvey Weinstein, left, as his attorney Benjamin Brafman speaks at a hearing in New York, Oct. 11, 2018, during which part of the sex-crimes case against Weinstein was dropped.(Photo: Steven Hirsch/Pool/AP)

"If a movement is used to help level the playing field for women, that is good, but if the movement is used to pressure prosecutors to proceed with the filing of false criminal charges against a defendant, that often results in a miscarriage of justice,” Brafman said.

Details of the potential problems with Evans' testimony were not discussed in court, but were expected to be included in court filings set to be unsealed later in the day.

A "disclosure" letter from Illuzzi-Orbon to Brafman, released Thursday, described how Evans story of what she says Weinstein did to her conflicted with the testimony of a witness, her friend who was with her in a New York restaurant in 2004 when Evans was first approached by Weinstein.

Weinstein's lawyers and prosecutors had been wrangling over the part of the indictment pertaining to Evans' allegations for the last few weeks in closed-door meetings and sealed court papers.

Brafman said that inconsistencies in Evans' account were initially discovered by a fact checker at The New Yorker.

In a statement, a lawyer for Evans said she was disappointed by the DA's decision to "abandon" her.

"Let me be clear: the decision to throw away my client's sexual assault charges says nothing about Weinstein's guilt or innocence. Nor does it reflect on Lucia's consistent allegation that she was sexually assaulted with force by Harvey Weinstein," said attorney Carrie Goldberg. "It only speaks volumes about the Manhattan DA's office and its mishandling of my client's case."

Weinstein, who has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex, still faces charges over allegations that he raped an unidentified woman in his hotel room in 2013 and performed a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006.

In the months after The New York Times and The New Yorker began publishing stories about Weinstein's interactions with women, activists pressured Vance to bring charges as dozens of people came forward with claims of sexual misconduct against him.

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Harvey Weinstein arrives to court in New York, July 9, 2018. Weinstein, who was previously indicted on charges involving two women, was in court today for arraignment on charges alleging he committed a sex crime against a third woman. Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Harvey Weinstein arrives to court in New York, July 9, 2018. Weinstein, who was previously indicted on charges involving two women, was in court today for arraignment on charges alleging he committed a sex crime against a third woman. Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Harvey Weinstein was hit with allegations of almost three decades of sexual harassment Thursday in the 'New York Times.' The mega-producer has long been part of the Hollywood elite. Here, he poses with Sienna Miller at a dinner in 2009. Donald Bowers, Getty Images for The Weinstein C

From left to right, David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Zwick and Marc Norman all celebrate after receiving the Oscar for best picture for "Shakespeare In Love" during the 71st Annual Academy Awards Sunday, March 21, 1999 in Los Angeles. Paltrow won the Oscar for best actress in the movie. Dave Caulkin, AP

Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, laughed with Weinstein at the 2012 TIME 100 Gala celebrating the magazine's list of the most influential people in the world. Larry Busacca, Getty Images for TIME

Weinstein was presented with the W.E.B. Du Bois medal by Glenn Hutchins in 2014 at Harvard. The DuBois Medal is Harvard's highest honor in the field of African and African-American Studies. Steven Senne, AP

Weinstein was in the first row for the February 2017 Marchesa show at New York Fashion Week to see the latest designs from his wife's label. He was flanked by 'This Is Us' star Mandy Moore and 'Vogue' editor Anna Wintour. Theo Wargo, (Credit too long, see caption)